Monday, 22 November 2010

Kanye West - "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" - Review

The months and months of waiting are now over and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF) has finally seen the light of day. The album itself did spring a leak a couple of weeks ago but it finally received it’s official release today. The hype surrounding the release has been monumental, fuelled week after week with G.O.O.D. Friday releases but was it worth the wait...

Kanye is undoubtedly one of the most consistent artists in music. He has a unique talent of quality control and has an ability to see the bigger picture when constructing an album. Kanye is one of the few hip hop artists of present that puts real time and effort into crafting a sound that will glue the entire body of songs together. There is no magic formula... He does not put a club banger in here with a slow jam there, Kanye simply works hard on a sound until he achieves logical consistency.

What really is striking about this album is that the listener gets a real sense of the journey that has taken Kanye to this point. There are glimmers of all the previous albums on MBDTF that will please long-term fans. The overall sound is plush, epic and grandiose... This album truly is wonderful.

The production, as you may expect, is tremendous; each song slips into the other with effortless ease. “Gorgeous” which is produced by West and mentor No I.D is a tremendous piece of music; Cudi lends a hand on the hook, a hook that really sets the song alight coupled with the lyrical prowess of West and Raekwon. The album certainly has no shortage of guests; Nicki Minaj (on “Monster”), Raekwon (on “Gorgeous”) and Gil Scott Heron (on “Who Will Survive In America”) are particularly impressive with Heron closing the album with some incredibly words.

So where does MDBTF rank among the others? Hip hop purists may feel that West has not dedicated adequate attention to the lyrical side of the project. There is perhaps some truth to this claim as the album is certainly fuelled by a sound... by music. However, this album certainly fits quite nicely into an increasingly impressive body of work for the Chi Town native. Will this album have the same replay value as the others? As always, only time will tell.

Kanye West is a hip hop artist that has the ability to transcend his niche and really become one of the powerhouses in modern music. Hip hop is now in an era where hits come daily but a truly great and critically acclaimed LP is rare. For a hip hop lover, Mr West... love him or hate him... is an integral cog in the progression of the this art form.